Hawaii Catholic Herald

Newspaper of the Diocese of Honolulu

Father Kenneth Doyle: Ten Commandments or 613? Masses said for non-Catholics?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Why is it that Christians feel that the coming of Jesus freed them from the 613 prescripts that Jews count in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and that they can adhere only to the Ten Commandments? Why those 10 and not the other 613? (Albany, New York) A: […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is Medjugorje for real? How do we know where the true Cross ended up?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: A friend has just informed me that she is going next month to Medjugorje in Bosnia. She says that the Blessed Mother has been appearing there to six visionaries since 1981 and that Our Lady gives them messages on the 2nd and 25th days of each month. Can you shed some light […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Does sin cancel consecration? Am I committing a serious sin by going to Mass on a weekday rather than a Sunday?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Our pastor has told us that if a person receives Communion in the state of mortal sin, the host ceases to be the body of Christ and is just ordinary bread. But if that is the case, why would it be a sin? (east central Ohio) A: If that, in fact, is […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Does new Catholic need an annulment? Why can’t communion wine be offered in separate cups?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: A neighbor of ours, age 66, just completed the RCIA program to become a Catholic. She has been told that she cannot receive Communion or be confirmed until she secures an annulment. She was not married in a Catholic church and has been divorced for over a decade. She states that she […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: How do vegans do Fridays in Lent?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: What do persons who don’t normally eat meat do about the church’s rules on abstinence, such as on the Fridays during Lent? Nowadays, many Catholics are mainly fish eaters anyway, or they are vegans or vegetarians. What can they do to participate in the discipline of the church? (New Middletown, Indiana) A: […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What did Mary do during Jesus’ ministry?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I am wondering what Mary did and where she lived during the three years of Jesus’ ministry. Did she travel with the “women who ministered to him”? (Wichita, Kansas) A: In the Gospels, once the public ministry of Jesus has begun, Mary is mentioned in only a few scenes. We can assume […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: May first cousins marry?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Are first cousins allowed to be married in the church? I have in mind a couple I know whose fathers are brothers. They hadn’t known each other as children but met later at a family reunion and then fell in love. They were married in a civil court, which is allowed in […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Is there still a purgatory? Do Catholic politicians who vote to provide abortions get excommunicated?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I am a cradle Catholic and have always believed in purgatory. Now I am hearing from some people (including from some priests) who deny its existence. Can you clarify this for me? (City and state of origin withheld) A: The Catholic Church does indeed believe in the existence of purgatory. The Catechism […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: What about the pain of divorce? Taking fussy kids to Mass?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: I read your recent answer concerning divorced Catholics and their standing in the church. You and others fail to remind Catholics that the Catechism (No. 2384-85) calls divorce a grave injustice to the abandoned spouse and the children and also introduces disorder into society. How can you (and, it seems, most spokesmen) […]

Father Kenneth Doyle: Can a Democrat be pro-life? Can you make up a missed Mass?

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QUESTION CORNER Q: Recently, Time magazine ran an article about Tim Ryan, a Democrat congressman from Ohio, who announced his campaign for president. The article says that he “was against abortion rights until 2015.” It also says that he is a devout Catholic and names his parish. Ryan is quoted as saying, “To me, my […]